DDH Simcoe Le Jus
Alarmist Brewing

Well. For an stupid, hazy, NE IPA this is actually not bad. Of course, I paid $6 for 4 sale at my local big box, because the mgr knows, at the end of the day, that's what it's worth. Man, I hate cliches. The review? Hazy, duh. DDH Simcoe, my favorite hop, making this aroma and taste almost dank, almost bitter, almost citrus. Mouthfeel chewy, good. Overall, good value for $6.

 

It's very good. I'm drinking these from the outdated (by 3 weeks), $2 section of my local beer joint. They're good enough that even outdated, I went back and bought more.

Murky orange color with thin lacing. Smells sweet (bread yeast, orange, pineapple). Tastes about the same. Very pineapple and citrus up front. And high carbonation.

Tastes good enough for me to buy more, even when it's past its "best by" date...

Two pint cans have entirely filled a clear glass liter mug. The color now within is that of orange-pineapple juice. There's a modest, but enduring head. Now, it smells like hop candy; hoppy and sweet. The taste is juicy and hoppy. This is one of the least bitter and simple tasting IPAs that uses Simcoe hops. To a hop head, that's not necessarily a good thing. The body is light and doesn't seem to add much to the flavor, other than a little sweetness. Glass lacing is also modest. Suspicion is there's not much barley malt in this concoction. At least, courtesy of the Simcoe hops, there is a decently bitter aftertaste.

Lots of grapefruit, mango and citrus in the smell and in the taste. Some nice pine and bitterness help to balance it out. Very smooth. A nice change from the original.

 

 

 

16oz can, undated but presumed to be fresh, poured into a stemless wine glass.

The beer pours a very hazy and turbid orange amber color with a tall white head that offer modest retention nice lacing. The aroma is pleasant, melon fruit, citrus and mango puree, fairly piney and dank, nice grassy and floral character with sweet yeast and pale dough. The flavors are good, fairly tropical with a nice grapefruit and orange flavor, pineapple and melon come out as well, lightly floral with a nice piney and dank bitterness, green and raw with a light spice while the finish is sweeter with pale grain and sweet yeast. The mouthfeel is good, coating and lively with a heavier medium body that finishes with a lightly dry bite.

Verdict: A really nice Simcoe IPA from Alarmist. Certainly no "cat pee on a christmas tree" as can be the Simcoe trope, but rather a pleasantly fruity yet bitter IPA. It errs more on the sweet side of things but still comes across as a more bitter NEIPA than the style tends to be.

 

 

 

Tasted in a Spiegelau IPA glass from a one pint can on August 10, 2019. A Le Jus variant aggressively double dry hopped with Simcoe. This NEIPA has massive juicy flavors of honeydew, bright lemon zest and a hint of guava.